A New Era
by doctorwho133
Summary: The year 2036, 15 years since the Gastrea virus broke out in Japan and as more and more Gastrea appear all over the country, there isn't enough man power to hold them back. The rest of the world soon began to take notice of Japan's plight, and America has enlisted their service to help fight back against the Gastrea with their own private Gastrea Elimination Force.
1. A New Hero

"Daniel Edwards, age 20, Private First Class...hmmmm."

Daniel fidgeted nervously in his seat as his CO grumbled and read over his files. He tried not to look into his commanders eyes and tried instead to focus on his desk, or the gray clouds out the window, just anything so he wouldn't have to look at those eyes as they pierced his body and sized him up. He slowly ran his fingers through his short brown hair and tried to let his eyes wander around the small office.

"Edwards, you've only enlisted for a few years now, why do you suddenly want to transfer to the Gastrea Elimination Force?"

"Well, sir, to be honest I feel like I can really make a difference if I go and help. The rest of the world has been peaceful in recent years and I think we need to direct more of our attention to the Gastrea outbreak. The GEF only has a small amount of members right now and, well, I want to help out as much as I can."

Daniel began to run his fingers through his hair again, it was becoming a habit of his.

"And what about these rumors that Japan itself is producing these Gastrea as a bio weapon to use against the US? That's the main reason that we have so few members on the force so far."

"Sir, to be frank I think that's a load of crap! There's no way that anyone would produce such horrible monsters, they kill every person they see. I can't believe Japan would willingly produce such monstrosities!"

Daniel's commander looked at him with a smile and chuckled.

"That's what I like about you Edwards, you have a very strong sense of justice, but do you think you're even cut out for this job? You're young, and you're inexperienced, like you said, the rest of the world has been peaceful lately, you've never seen any real action."

Daniel sank down in his chair at that last comment, if he couldn't get into the GEF then he wouldn't have any other reason to be in the army, it was really his only reason for joining.

"Well sir I think I'm quite strong for my age a-a-and I have a few recommendations from many of the higher-ups. My uncle has also taught me in martial arts since I was young, I think I'm quite qualified."

"I'm not so sure..." His CO quietly mumbled under his breath.

"Uh, will all due respect sir if Rentaro Satomi could become the head of the Civil Security Corporation at the age of 16 I think I could become a competent soldier!"

"You're no cyborg Edwards! You're a young private with no prior experience, no field training could prepare you for the Gastrea, I know that firsthand!"

"Please sir, you and my uncle were in the same unit together you know how good a soldier he was and he trained me. Just give me a chance to prove myself and you'll see!"

"Daniel, listen.." The CO sighed.

"Sir if I fail then I'll just be dead and you won't have to deal with me anymore!" Daniel got up from his chair and down onto his knees and pleaded with his commander.

After a pause that seemed to last for hours his commander laughed at him again and smiled.

"Heh, Edwards there's just something about you, you've got a spark like none I've seen before, you really are just like your uncle you know that. You get two months and then we'll see how you're progress looks from there." His CO brought a big APPROVED stamp down on his file.

Daniel perked up immediately and almost hugged his commander, but instead settled to just start shaking his hands rapidly.

"Thank you sir, I guarantee you, you won't regret this! Thank you again sir!"

"Alright, alright you're welcome. Now get out of here and get ready, you leave tomorrow morning."

"Yes sir!"

Daniel rushed out of his commander's office and began hastily packing his bags and getting everything he would need. He didn't have much to bring with him really, just a few changes of clothes and his equipment the military gave him. He'd have to eventually get a weapon made from Varanium, the strange metal that can combat Gastrea. Finally, he could be real hero just like his uncle, and all those action movies!

"And the best part of all, I'm going to JAPAN! I wonder what kind of Initiator I'll be assigned, maybe a really cool one, like a dinosaur! Man that would be awesome..."

Daniel went off into his own little world fantasizing about his trip tomorrow, the only left to do now was wait.

**Author's Note:** So clearly this is the first thing I've written on here, this will just be a test run to gauge what people think of my work. If it kicks off, there will be more! Reviews Welcome.


	2. Day One, Kinda Boring

As exciting as finally arriving in Japan and stepping off the plane might have been, the only thing Daniel noticed was how unbearably hot it was.

_"Oh jeez, maybe I shouldn't have waited until summer to try and join the GEF...But hey I'm in Tokyo! The heart of Tendo Civil Security. Awesome! "_

However, there was no time to admire the area since as soon as Daniel stepped off the plane he was immediately corralled into a group of other new recruits and sent off to the American base, everyone here was technically now a new recruit, regardless of their past experience. On the ride over they drove right through the main city area. The giant Varanium monoliths loomed in the outskirts of the city, but as menacing as they seemed people still went about their normal lives; children played and people went out shopping, it was like they weren't even affected by the threat of the Gastrea.

_"Everyone must really trust the GEF and Tendo...nobody looks scared or anything."_

The transport trucks eventually reached their destination, the Main building of the Tendo Civil Security corporation, a relatively new building complex built in the heart of Tokyo. Thanks to a great amount of help and funding from America, Tendo was able to build a proper base of operations to house both the Civil Security Corp. and the GEF, complete with training centers, offices, housing, storage, and plenty more. As the recruits got off the vehicles they were greeted by an army officer who directed them through the building to where they would begin a day long series of rigorous tests.

"Everybody listen up! First I'd like to welcome you all to Tokyo, as well as the new HQ of Tendo Civil Security and the GEF. I am commander Walter Garret. Here we will begin a day long series of rigorous tests to determine you capabilities and place you in the appropriate class. You will first be taking a generic aptitude test, very similar to the ASVABS you've already taken. For the rest of the day you will be learning as much as possible about different Gastrea, as well as potential initiators. Lastly we will go over the basics of combat using Varanium weapons. The testing areas are arranged according to name so follow the signs and it'll all work out smoothly, dismissed!"

Daniel eagerly began his series of tests with the other recruits, however his energy quickly ran out as the 'tests' were nothing more than a simple questionnaire that just took long to complete. His identity information, combat skills and history, what areas he'd think he be best at, blah blah blah he'd already done all this before coming to Japan! However it was designed to determine his ranking and abilities so it must have been important somehow. The really exciting part was a lecture all about Gastrea, sure it may have been kinda lame like being back in school but it was useful information that Daniel didn't know. Different forms and stages of Gastrea and how to fight them, 'focus on small concentrated attacks' an effective battle method. 'Work together with your initiator to combat larger Gastrea.' kind of obvious but useful. Interestingly, it seems that the GEF encouraged the use of close range weapons such as swords or spears. Daniel always figured that it was too dangerous to be up close and just better to use a gun, but it turned out the more Varanium in contact with a Gastrea, the more effective it was, and there was certainly a higher concentration of Varanium in the larger, close range weapons than just bullets.

"_Guess I'll have to start thinking of what kind of weapon would be best suited to me. Probably something kick ass like a broad sword, or a lance..."_

Daniel once again went off into his own world as the last few minutes of the lecture droned on.

The rest of the day was filled with the history of Tendo Civil Security, The Third Kanto War, Kisara Tendo defecting and Rentaro Satomi becoming the head of the Security Corp. up to the formation of the GEF. All basic information that pretty much everyone there already new, Daniel just wondered when the exciting stuff would happen. Finally the new recruits were able to meet with the leaders of the GEF. General Robert Baker, along a table of other military leaders and doctors lead the GEF, while Rentaro Satomi along with a smaller group of top ranking Initiators led the Civil Security Corp. However it didn't seem like new recruits was important enough for Satomi to bother with as there was no one from the corporation and only General Baker addressed them.

"Ladies and Gentleman, first I'd like to welcome you again to Japan and the Gastrea Elimination Force. I thank you for enlisting your services to us and I hope that everyone here will strive to maintain the peace and safety of the people of Japan. Now some of you are seasoned veterans who have previously been in combat for years, others of you may be new recruits and this is the first place you were stationed, either way I am here to tell you that you are all one unit with the same purpose: To eliminate the Gastrea epidemic. No matter what combat experience you may have had, what you will experience here is unlike anything you have ever seen, so know that you are all on the same base level when it comes to fighting Gastrea. Keep that in mind and work together, as it stands you are all on the same level and make no mistake, nobody here is better...yet."

General Baker stepped down and the recruits saluted him, it seems they were lying about any actual training anytime soon, the day was over and tomorrow promised to be more tests and drills to determine everyone's proficiency, and it would be at least a week before any ranks or initiators were assigned. But still it would all come to be worth it soon, Daniel just looked forward to what was to come.


	3. A Taste of Things to Come

The first week had finally past, the next day the new recruits were going to take their first ranking test and find their real potential, get assigned an initiator, test out the Varanium weapons, finally become real promoters! It was also the first time the GEF allowed the new soldiers to out into town on their own, they wanted everyone to get accustomed to Japan first so any trips into town were scheduled. Daniel and some of the other recruits in his squad decided to go out for one more night together, after they were tested they would get assigned ranks and relocated around Japan based on their results, so they all decided to spend the night at a nearby beef bowl restaurant.

"Yeah, I guess I won't be seein you guys after tomorrow. I'm thinking I'll get assigned to the field, ya know, taking on those stage V Gastrea." One of the other recruits began bragging of his skills.

"Oh please, Ray I was with you in Iran and you nearly pissed yourself during a drill."

"Hey that was two years ago, and I was just stationed there that time. But then I got some experience...I saw some things..."

"yeah you saw the inside of the kitchen."

Their table burst out laughing as Ray told his story of his life as a chef.

"Heh, so what about you Dan, what're you thinking you'll rank?"

"Well I'm not sure, I mostly did guard duty back home, but I was top in squad, I think I'll be fine here, probably just get assigned to the basic missions. I'm still not even sure what type of weapon I'd want to try."

"I know what I'm doing, gonna use a sword, I've been practicing since high school."

"I'm was going to try for an ax or something, something with a wide range."

Daniel and his friends went around the table name the various Varanium weapons they had available to them, discussing the pros and cons of each.

"Well, I guess I'll just have to try them all and see what works for me."

Daniel wasn't too worried that he wasn't sure what to try as a weapon, he'd just be able to try them all and see what he liked best! It was turning to midnight before the owner finally kicked them out, it was already past lights out by the time they got back to the GEF, but they managed to sneak back in no problem. Tomorrow was the day they'd all been waiting for, no more lectures and videos and history lessons, Daniel would finally get to see some action!

Daniel and his friends returned to the GEF base and were ordered to their barracks since an hour had already passed since lights out. It was just a matter of time now.

The next morning Daniel awoke to the familiar sound of the Reveille on the horns and his drill instructor ordering them out of their barracks and everyone lined up beside their beds as their instructor addressed them.

"Alright everyone it's assessment day! Today you'll be tested on all of your prior training, as well as the training and classes you've been attending here. Your results will be used to determine your ranking received, which will then be used to decide your job and location. As a quick rundown of the schedule today, we will of course start out with routine exercises, the rest of the day will be managed by Tendo. You will follow their series of tests and do as they order, the first series of test will be on basic combat knowledge and anatomy of Gastrea. So let's go! Get through this and I won't have to stare at any of your ugly faces again! MOVE OUT!"

Daniel and his squad were ushered into the main area of the GEF building, from there they were directed to their first Promoter test...a written test on Gastrea anatomy... The test itself was pretty basic, it was really everything Daniel had already studied when he was planning to join the GEF, basic combat strategy for different stages and models of Gastrea, where the weak points were. Daniel was pretty confident in his answers, probably aced the written parts.

It was all fun and games until it came time to test his actual combat skills and physical prowess, he was still a young soldier and hadn't experienced any real combat outside of training. He could barley hold the Varanium weapons correctly. Varanium was such a dense and heavy metal that making weapons out of it often threw off the balance of fighters using them. Some of the more senior soldiers were already heading off to the training grounds with their selected weapons, but Daniel couldn't even hold a knife level.

_"Dammit this is embarrassing, I'm gonna get kicked out before I even start. I'll just have to try for the lightest thing there is."_

Daniel decided on trying out with a spear first, only the tip was made of Varanium so it shouldn't be too hard to use. Daniel headed outside to the training grounds supporting the spear on his shoulder, trying not to fall backwards from it. Outside they were met by some woman from Tendo that they hadn't seen before.

"Well good morning everyone. I'm Kinto Ishizu, one of the many weapons experts and instructors we have available here. I see you've all followed our advice and selected a Varanium weapon suitable to your abilities, however first we will start out a bit simpler."

Kinto pulled out a Glock 19 handgun, it was a standard issue firearm in the army.

"This, as you all should know, is a standard issue Glock 19, however it's been outfitted to support Varanium bullets. It will be issued to each Promoter as a backup in addition to the primary weapon you choose. We will begin practicing using these first, Varanium bullets are heavier than regular bullets and you need to learn to adjust your technique to fire these accurately."

Daniel relaxed a little bit now, he could easily fire a gun, his uncle had been teaching him to shoot since he was ten and he was the best shot in his unit. The Varanium bullets definitely made it more difficult to shoot, it was heavier near the handle and a person would have to adjust their angle slightly to fire accurately. It didn't take long for Daniel to get the shooting down, he just had to think like it was a brand new weapon and learn how to hold it from scratch. Most of the other recruits weren't able to shoot very well at first, in fact Daniel started helping everyone else by the end of it.

"Nice shootin', recruit." Kinto said coming up behind him. "What's your name?"

"Oh, uh Edwards, Ma'am. Daniel Edwards."

"Good work, Edwards. Haven't seen anyone adjust to a Varanium weapon that quickly before. But, being a Promoter requires more than just fancy gunslinging. Let's see how you are in combat."

Kinto turned and addressed everyone.

"Alright listen up everyone! Direct your attention to the courtyard." Kinto pointed out a larger fenced off area behind them. "Out here we have practice targets set up for you to test your physical prowess, you'll get an hour to practice, and then we test you."

Everyone began to move towards the targets, and they weren't just regular human shaped targets, they had set up giant Gastrea sized dummies. Some of them at least as big as a stage II Gastrea!

_"I guess this is the only way to get the authentic experience."_

Daniel spent a few minutes just trying to hold and swing his spear correctly, but it wasn't too much of a problem eventually he was able to swing it accurately enough to do some damage.

"Be wary of your surroundings and work together. Remember, a Promoter must protect their Initiator and vice versa. Teamwork is key!" Kinto said to them directing the training.

There were all types of fighters who joined the GEF, some were using giant swords and trying to do everything themselves, Daniel stayed away from them, with weapons like these they were more a danger to themselves then the Gastrea. Instead Daniel was able to work with one of the other recruits who mostly stayed back and directed Daniel and two others, he was probably a tactician in the army but he also fought some himself.

When the hour had passed Daniel was able to use his spear pretty well and could strike accurately, he had also been working with Ray, Jon and Mike from the restaurant last night. They worked pretty well together, hopefully they could end up in the same area eventually.

Now they were finally ready to take the exam and become official Promoters! To be honest, Daniel couldn't wait for what the GEF had in store for them, so far they'd only been training with dummies in the camp, maybe they would go out into the field with other Promoters and Initiators to see what it was really like.


	4. The Test

To take the test they were led further down into the GEF building to the subterranean levels where they were separated into smaller groups of four people and then were led into a large gymnasium type room that had to be at least forty feet high and almost as long. The room was empty though for some reason, Daniel didn't know what they would be tested on in here, there was no sort of obstacle course or anything to go through.

Kinto and General Baker appeared from the elevator behind them, and five children came out from another door. They were just little girls, were they cursed children?

"Well glad to see everyone has lasted until testing." Baker said to them. "As you can guess we will be evaluating you here, we have some Initiators who are willing to help you so work with them. Now everyone get together with who you've been paired with."

Daniel had been paired with a petite girl, maybe about 11 years old or so. Her long silver hair went over and covered most of her face, but her red eyes still glared through at him with a look of hostility and determination.

"It looks like we'll be partnered up, my name's Daniel Edwards. Nice to meet you." Daniel reached out his hand for her to shake and to try and break some of the tension.

"Pleased to meet you Daniel, I am Amade Yukari, Model Falcon Initiator. Try not to die during the test like some of the previous recruits."Amade politely bowed to Daniel and walked back over to the entrance where everyone was grouping up.

"O-oh right, bow, sorry." Daniel nervously bowed very low to nothing as Amade had already walked away from him. He rushed over and lined up in front of Kinto and Baker along with the other recruits.

Now they were all together, two Initiators and two new recruits but...what was there to test on?

"So, hey, how are we gonna be tested in here? It's just a big empty room." The other recruit asked to Baker, Daniel had seen him before, his name was Jon if he remembered correctly.

"Ah, glad you asked it's always fun to see the first person to say that." Baker led him, over to one of the giant blast doors at one end of the room and it began to open. "You see, you'll be fighting these little guys here. One of Doctor Muroto's pets."

Immediately after Baker said that, as if on cue a banging sound was heard from the other side of the door, as if so ethibg huge was crashing against the walls. Baker began casually walking away as the recruit was left shaking in front of the blast gate as it slowly opened and the sounds became louder and more aggressive.

"H-Hey, what the hell's behind this wall!?"

Jon's voice shuddered and he seemed to scared to move away from the blast door.

"Oh come now, this is the Gastrea Elimination Force after all, how else do you think we'd test you?"Baker replied with a grin on his face. He walked back to Kinto and they went a service elevator to higher viewing area behind a glass barrier.

"Wait, hold on you can't be serious!"

"You know you might want to move out of the way, these ones can be pretty quick."

Kinto replied and simply shrugged off his outburst and the doors had fully opened and he saw two pairs of fierce red eyes staring back at him.

"Get down!"

The cursed child paired up with Jon ran out and tackled him to the ground just as two Gastrea leapt out of their cell, they landed on all fours and turned their gaze to Daniel and Yukari. They were pretty small for Gastrea, but that still wasn't saying much, they both had to be at least fifteen feet tall and that was on four limbs, they looked like foxes the virus had infected.

"Hey this is crazy! We haven't even had any training fighting these things!"

"What do you mean? You've had plenty if military training already. Besides there's two of them and four of you, those are some good odds I'd say."

The two Gastrea loomed over their selected targets and began circling the room around them. The one staring at Daniel and Yukari began to growl and bare its fangs, its voice shook the room and its teeth had to be a foot long each. The Gastrea's whole body was covered in black fur and the tail moved back and forth as fast as a whip. Its eyes glowed red as if blinded by anger,and they were staring right at Daniel. The monster began to charge at then, its speed was unmatched, it seemed to cross halfway across the room in the blink of an eye.

"Alright , let's begin."

Yukari leapt out of the path of the Gastrea and Daniel scrambled after here just barely avoiding its teeth.

Baker's and Kinto's voices came on over the speakers in the room.

"Alright you two are doing good so far, so first analysis. What type of Gastrea do these look like to you?."

"The kind that want to eat us!?"

"No, Jon that's true for most any Gastrea."

"They look like Stage I Gastrea. Maybe Model Fox?"

"Good Edwards. But remember too what their strengths and weaknesses are "

"They rely on their speed."Yukari spoke up. "So we need to be faster!"

The Gastrea continued to dash at Daniel and Yukari swiping at them wasn't too difficult to dodge their claws which would do the most damage, but Daniel was getting hit by their large arms or tails and getting thrown to the floor.

_"This is I sane, how are we supposed to hurt these things if we can't even stand up without getting hit?"_

Daniel looked around the room and saw that he was the only one still defenseless on the ground, Yukari was rushing past the Gastrea and it sounded like she was whistling at them but it was almost too high pitched too hear. The Gastrea tried to find Yukari but it looked like it was having trouble standing up on its own legs.

_" That's right, Yukari is a Model Falcon so she must be able to whistle at high pitched sounds like a falcon. And being so close to the Gastrea she can disorient them."_

"Edwards attack it now while I have it distracted!"

Daniel got up and grabbed his spear that landed near him and ran towards the Gastrea while it was still stumbling around d trying to fund Yukari.

_"If I use the spear and jam it into the Gastrea's arm it won't be able to attack us so easily."_

Daniel continued toward the Gastrea's front limb and dug the lance far into its leg and out the other side. The Gastrea got its bearings back and gave up on Yukari, instead focusing on the spear now sticking out if its injured forearm and Daniel standing below it.

"Oh crap."

The Gastrea swung at Daniel with its other arm and sent him across the room, luckily Daniel was still holding his spear rand it managed to take out a good chunk if arm with it. Now there was definitely no way the Gastrea was standing back up on that arm. Daniel stood back up using his spear for support, the landing hit him pretty hard and his leg was throbbing with pain now.

"Oh nice thinking on your feet Edwards."Kinto's voice came on the loudspeaker. "That'll certainly do some damage."

Daniel stood up using his spear to support himself, there was no way he'd be able to stand and fight well now, and Yukari once again had the Gastrea distracted but couldn't take it down on her own. There was one thing Daniel had left to try, he had a spear so it was time to start using it like one. He stood up as best he could and tried to find the best spot to throw the spear into on the Gastrea, it's front arm was already damaged so it would have a harder time dodging or blocking the attack. The best target would probably be the side of the head.

"Yukari get out of the way!"

Yukari turned to see Daniel taking as best a throwing stance as he could and immediately she went down onto the floor for cover. Daniel threw the weapon with all the strength his tired body could muster and it managed to hit the Gastrea, though nowhere near his original target. Daniel's balance was thrown off due to his hurt leg and the spear hit the side of the Gastrea's body instead, it didn't seem to do much damage to it at all.

"Dammit that won't help. And now I can't even get my weapon back."

Daniel cursed at his poor attempt to finish it off. He fell to the ground helpless while instead, Yukari stood up smiling.

"That's excellent thinking Edwards!"

Daniel looked at her confused, there was no way the Gastrea was going down from that wound. Yukari took a few steps away and then charged straight at the fox and kicked the other end of the spear, sending it deeper inside the Gastrea's body. She hit the weapon twice more and it completely disappeared into the monster, the Gastrea howled and collapsed onto the floor dead. Daniel and Yukari had finally won.

Shortly afterwards a medical team came and helped Daniel into a stretcher, his leg was nothing serious just twisted pretty far, but it would heal fine. Jon on the other hand was completely hysterical about a small cut he had received while fighting but he and his Initiator managed to win against their Gastrea just fine.

"Oh god it cut me, am I infected now? I'm not gonna turn into a monster am I!? How could you let us fight those dangerous monsters?

"Of course not you baby." General Baker and Kinto came over to them from the viewing platform. "These Gastrea have been genetically modified so they don't have poison. Besides, you didn't notice during your battle, but we had trained Promoters and a medical team on standby right at the side of the room. You were never in any real danger."

Yukari came over to Daniel with a satisfying grin on her face.

"Thank you ...Daniel. You did very well and it's because of your quick thinking that we won. I know I was rude before but many times people fail this test or sometimes get injured...I just didn't want to become to friendly incase..."

"It's alright, uh, Amade I can understand. To be honest though I was aiming for the head with that throw, it's because of you thinking to kick the spear deeper that we won."

Daniel and Yukari shared a quick laugh at their performance. They ended up working pretty well together, even if Daniel made a mistake, she was able to go along with it and turn it into a win.

"Well the four of you did excellent work, now you can get home and get some deserved rest. Daniel we'll just take a few minutes to check your leg and then you can leave. You'll all receive your results of the test in a few weeks and then we can continue with pairing you up with an Initiator that fits with the rank you'll receive. You may be paired up with the same partners as you were today, you may not be. But we'll see when the time comes. You're all dismissed."

Baker and Kinto left them to the medical team.

"Well I'll leave you to the doctors Daniel, I hope we see eachother again in the field." Yukari shook Daniel's hand and left for home. The test was finally finished and all that was left for Daniel was to heal and await his results. He'd get a ranking and finally be an official Promoter.


End file.
